Making Funeral Arrangements

Home & Family > Elderly Care | By: (07/05/11) Views: 2

What to do when someone dies

Below is a brief guide to help the bereaved through those first few days following the death of a loved one, the days leading up to the funeral and the time beyond.

Middleton and Wood of Burntwood
10-12 Rugeley Road,
Burntwood
Staffordshire.
WS7 9BA

The experienced team from Middleton and Wood of Burntwood funeral directors are on hand to help you with all aspects of arranging the funeral and a funeral ceremony, giving you clear information and the assistance you need to make your own choices. Unlike when dealing with the bigger multi outlet funeral directors, at Middleton and Wood one person will look after you from the first contact right through the to the day of the funeral service.

Firstly, there is no rush. Every death comes as a shock, even if the person had been unwelll or even when the death was expected. It's harder when the death is unexpected or sudden. In the case of an unexpected death, it is likely that the ambulance service and the police will be involved, and the death may become a case dealt with by the Coroner.

But most deaths are not unexpected, and it’s important to remember that when someone dies there is no need to rush into making hasty decisions about what to do. If you want, quietly spend a little time sitting with the person who has died, so you can begin to say goodbye, and let yourself totally take in what has happened. When you are ready, arrangements can be made to bring the person who has died into our care.

When someone dies, there is often so much going on at once that you can’t think straight, or believe what’s happened. If at all possible, call a neighbour, friend or relative and ask them to come and be with you. Most people are really pleased to help out at such a difficult time. They may have experienced the same thing themselves and are only to pleased to pass on that experience.

Your concentration and emotions might be all over the place, you might be in shock as well as grief. Or, it may feel eerily as if nothing has changed, this is because you can’t believe it. It is normal. Almost everyone goes through this at first, so if this is you, just trust it won’t always be like this. Meantime, you, or a funeral director working on your behalf, have to get on with tasks that can’t wait. But there are a lot fewer of these than you might think.

The first things that must be done are:

Call your GP, a doctor or rapid response, if the person has been under the care of the district nurses, to come and certify the death (if in a hospital, hospice or nursing home they will deal with this for you).

Call us, (we hope but inform a funeral director) we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, and we will come to take the person who has died into our care for you, then Vince, Marijke or Neil will meet with you to guide you through the following days leading to the funeral.

A day or so after the death

At Middleton and Wood of Burntwood we are here to be your gentle guiding hand and to accompany you on this journey, which is unfamiliar to you but which we have made with many families. We will spend time listening to you. We need to build an understanding together of your own ideas on how to take care of the person who has died and their funeral. You have at least two weeks before the funeral must happen (sooner or longer if you wish), so again you've time to make choices before committing yourself to a plan of action, and time to adjust any plans before the funeral. We don’t expect you to get it all right first time, you’ll change your mind about things – that’s fine. If you already know if the person who has died is to be cremated rather than buried, please let us know and we will inform the doctors so that the doctor’s cremation forms can be completed.

Register the death

You will receive a Cause of Death Certificate from the doctor. Then, as a close family member or relative, you can make an appointment with the Registrar within five days and take that along. If you have the person’s birth certificate, national insurance number or pension details take those too, but don’t fret about finding them. They will ask you for details of the person. You will receive the Death Certificate and a Green Form (Certificate for Burial or Cremation), which you give to us. It’s a good idea to get a few official copies of the Death Certificate to sort out the person’s affairs.

Begin to think about the funeral

The next most important thing to spend your time on is arranging a burial or cremation with the kind of ceremony that’s important to you and your family. Talk among your family and close friends about ideas for the ceremony. You’ll all want to look back and know you did the best you could, so let everything that can wait – which is probably most of it – wait, till after the funeral.

Planning the funeral

Firstly, you need to decide between burial or cremation. If the person who died had not made their wishes clear, this can often be an intuitive or emotional decision. Burial can take place in a churchyard, cemetery, a woodland burial ground, or even on private land. Cremation needs two doctors’ signatures and these can take a few days to obtain. Once you have a date in mind, it’s best for the burial or crematorium reservation to be made as soon as possible. It can always be changed.

The person conducting the ceremony has to be available on the day, so they must be contacted before you commit yourself to a date. You can choose an independent funeral celebrant, or a minister, or a friend can conduct the ceremony; but mostly, people don’t know of anyone, and we can help here. Vince at Middleton and Wood of Burntwood is an experienced celebrant with hundreds of civil and humanist funeral services to his name. When Middleton and Wood are both funeral directors and celebrants we can ensure that all decisions support each other.

There are many different choices you can make, should you wish, to create a very personal and individual ceremony. How do you want the event to feel; formal or more relaxed? traditional or contemporary? spiritual, religious or secular? simple or elaborate?

If you can, locate the will and any funeral instructions. Ask around the family – did the person ever talk about their funeral wishes? These sorts of important decisions can be taxing, so take time to discuss them first. Discuss these alternatives with us and with each other before you all decide – we will be happy to wait for most decisions, and put your needs first, so don’t worry about inconveniencing anyone.

To let everyone know about the death and the funeral, you can put a notice in the local or national newspaper. You could ask a friend or relative to ring round to let everyone know, perhaps using the address and telephone book of the person who has died. There may be people you’d rather talk to yourself, but It can be exhausting to try and talk to everyone. So now you may have a date and a time for the funeral, an idea about the type of ceremony you’d like and who will conduct it, whether a burial or a cremation and a way to let most people know about the funeral. And we can help you with the information you need to think about the other things and put everything in place for you.

Further considerations

The ceremony need not be held at the crematorium or burial ground. Middleton and Wood of Burntwood will offer support to help you find an appropriate space. It can be held anywhere with the owner’s permission to have the coffin present, such as a function room or a village hall, before moving on for a burial or cremation at the burial ground or crematorium. If you want more time than the crematorium usually offer, we can book a double time period. You can decorate any ceremony space with personal artefacts, flowers, whatever you’d think of for any family occasion – it’s your family’s event, and your choice of style.

There’s a choice between several different materials and styles of coffins. You can come in to us and see the range, or view them online at www.middletonandwood.co.uk and then click on Coffin Brochure.

If you would like floral arrangements for the coffin and perhaps other flowers, please call us at Middleton and Wood of Burntwood, we will listen to you, find out about the person who has died and design beautiful flowers especially. You will find our prices are really competative and the quality of the floral arrangements is excellent, but you are free to purchase from anywhere.

The vehicle to transport the person in their coffin to the funeral needn’t necessarily be a traditional hearse – you may prefer a less formal vehicle, this can be hired or belong to a family member or friend.

You may want to pick a charity to which donations can be made, perhaps based on a special interest of the person who has died. It’s a good idea to look for local charities.

It’s wise to think fairly early on about a gathering after the ceremony, so a venue and catering can be arranged in good time if that’s what you decide. Middleton and Wood of Burntwood funeral directors can provide you with information on all these choices. We will give you a summary of the arrangements you’ve made with us, along with a fully itemised estimate of costs, so you can make informed decisions that match what you have to spend.

Costs

Funerals cost money, there’s no getting round it. The costs include burial or cremation fees, transport, a coffin, funeral director’s expenses and so on. The average cost of a funeral is around £2,700 in the Midlands, often more in Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield and other areas of the Midlands. Research has shown that family owned funeral directors like Middleton and Wood of Burntwood offer the best value. Our Direct Cremation and Simple Way Funerals are an affordable alternative to traditional funeral services and you will find their cost extremely competetive. If you’re worried about paying the bill, talk to us at your first meeting and we can discuss the options we have available. On the other hand, if money’s not a problem, you can still keep to a budget and spend it wisely on things that will make a real difference to the way everyone will feel afterwards.

You may leave out everything you don’t want – such as costly limousines, perhaps, or an expensive gathering at a hotel afterwards – which you thought was expected. It doesn’t matter what you believe others expect of you. Remember, this is your funeral service, created by you in in a way you want to say your final goodbyes, and everyone will respect that as much as you would honour another family’s funeral arrangements. Death can bring people close, if you let it, and you may be surprised at the genuine kindness people want to show you.

The day of the funeral

You will deal with the same person, Vince, Marijke or Neil, right through the process from your first meeting to the end of the funeral. You will have their reassuring presence and support on the day to ensure that everything goes just as you want it to, leaving you free to do what you need to do. That person will not be involved in another funeral that day, so you have their full attention for as long as you need it. You can be as involved as you like in all aspects of the funeral ceremony.

When things aren’t as straightforward

This guide is an introduction to what you will have to go through when someone dies, and is not meant to be exhaustive and is in no way a substitute to the assistance of a professional funeral director.

Bear in mind that, occasionally, complications can happen. For instance, if the person died unexpectedly the emergency services must be called and the death will likely be referred to the Coroner. It can mean the person’s body is taken away without warning, just at the time you may need to feel them close. It may even mean the funeral has to be delayed, although this is rare. Phone the Coroner, they are very approachable, or talk to us and we will contact them on your behalf. No-one can change things, but at least they can be explained.

And if there’s anything at all you need to be clear about, before or after the funeral, don’t hesitate to ask. That’s what we’re here for. Our telephone number is 01543 677494 (24 hours 7 Days).

After the funeral has passed

Before the funeral, making the arrangements, calling people to tell them about the person having died, dealing with closing bank accounts and so on, can take up your attention and keep your mind off your immediate grief.

But after some time, when everyone else’s life has gone back to normal, you may feel alone and out of the loop. People don’t know how to talk to someone who’s grieving, but you’ll need them to. Tell them you want to, or they’ll think you want to forget. Here at Middleton and Wood of Burntwood we can offer help with coming to terms with bereavement, Vince is a bereavement counsellor who can help you to make sense of your feelings about your loss, and there are also organisations such as Cruse and others who give support in grieving. The end of a loved-one’s life is perhaps the worst thing that can happen, but it’s not the end of everything, and your life will go on.

Summary of the above information.

Middleton and Wood of Burntwood can help you with everything. The precise order of events depends on circumstances, but the main points are:

If the death was expected and at home, call the GP or doctor.
If in a hospital, hospice or nursing home they will do this for you.
If the death was unexpected, the emergency services and Coroner will probably become involved.
Sit with the person awhile if you wish, before arranging for them to be taken into care.
Call Middleton and Wood funeral directors when you are ready.
If you are responsible for arranging the funeral, decide how much can realistically be afforded and how to pay for it.
Decide between burial and cremation.
Think about how much you want to be involved in organising and holding the funeral, and talk about it with us.
Collect the Cause Of Death Certificate from the doctor, hospital or hospice, and register the death at the local Registrar’s office.
Decide who is to attend, and a time and date for the funeral.
Talk about the style of the funeral; and whether you’d prefer a minister, a celebrant or a friend to conduct the ceremony.
Choose a coffin from our wide range, and transport for the coffin.
Meet the person who will conduct the ceremony, and discuss music, hymns, songs, readings, speakers, eulogy, procession, venue etc.
Arrange to visit the person’s body, if you wish.
Arrange floral tributes, and any donations to charity.
Book a venue and caterers for gathering after the funeral.
Consider a memorial or a headstone, and what to do with the ashes later.

Registered office: Middleton and Wood of Burntwood, 10-12 Rugeley Road, Burntwood, Staffordshire. WS7 9BA.
Directors and Owners: R. Vincent Williams and Marijke Williams. Company registered in the UK at Companies House
Members of Natonal Association of Funeral Directors
Winner of the Golden Charter Funeral Planner of the Year 2007